The Heart That's Meant to Love You

Chapter 76: Stroll

"Where are you going?" Tawny asked for the umpteenth time in less than two days.

She hadn't been normal since Kieran came back from Oliver's party that night. With Tawny's EQ, it couldn't stem from her sensing Kieran's mood. Quite frankly, Tawny had never cared about Kieran's mood.

"Are you going out? Shopping?" Tawny dropped what she had been doing and scurried toward the front door. "Let me go with you."

Once more, suspicion and concern struck Kieran smack-dab in the middle of his chest and head. Tawny had been extra clingy these past few days, meddling in affairs she had no business meddling in. This kind of behavior from her came rarely, but when it did it always preceded some cold, cruel reality.

"What did you do?" Kieran asked, monotone so she didn't hear the panic rising in his throat.

"Nothing. Why would you think that?" Tawny shook her head, the very mask of innocence. "Let's go shopping. It'll be fun."

Shopping with Tawny would not, in fact, be fun. It would only manage to stress Kieran out. Considering that he had enough on his mind without adding to the stress, Kieran extracted his arm from Tawny's hold.

"It's eight o'clock in the evening. I'm not going shopping."

"What does the time have to do with shopping?" Tawny giggled, a bit too loud and a bit too squeal-y. "Shopping is fun at any time of day."

"Yes, well... you might think so, but I don't." Kieran planted his hands on Tawny's shoulders, turned her toward the makeshift couch, and gave a push. "I have some business to take care of. You stay here. I'll be back in a little bit."

"But what if I want to come with you?" Tawny's pout appeared, as readily available as it had always been. "My back hurts less when you're here."

After all these years, Tawny's scarred back couldn't possibly hurt as badly as Kieran's torn heart. His compassion for her had run out, lately. Only his responsibility and duty remained. Tawny was beautiful, but Kieran had come to the end of his patience when it came to her personality. Especially after having known Naomi.

"I won't be gone long." Kieran hustled out the door before Tawny could make any more persuasive arguments.

In a miraculous turn of events, Tawny stayed in the apartment. On a normal day, she had a propensity to follow Kieran everywhere. He might have been suspicious that she hadn't chased after him, but Kieran knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Evening shadows lent an eerie feeling to the street, but Kieran didn't care. Somewhere in those shadows, Donovan lurked. Even if Donovan didn't hover, Kieran knew a thing or two about how to keep himself safe. After all, it had been instilled in him since young. Just because he didn't submit to that life, didn't mean he hadn't learned all the lessons.

Kieran needed to get his head on straight. To figure out what he really wanted. Professor McNally had flipped his entire worldview upside-down, contradicting all he had been taught since infancy.

Kieran had always been told that duty came first. Was it time that he tossed that idea out the window and chased love instead?

"She wants to talk to you." Donovan emerged from the shadows, holding up his phone. "Says you don't answer your phone, so she went through me."

"I don't want to talk to her," Kieran answered automatically.

Heaving a sigh, Donovan lifted the phone to his own ear. "He says he doesn't want to." A pause. A grunt of acknowledgment. Then, "She says she won't hang up until you talk."

Kieran held out his palm, not because he wanted to talk to her, but because he didn't. That woman and he had a long history and complicated emotions.

Donovan settled the phone in Kieran's hand.

Kieran promptly ended the call.

"Are you crazy?" Donovan snatched the phone back. Not that he could do anything at this juncture. "She'll kill me for that."

"She knows it wasn't you who hung up." Kieran shoved his hands in his pockets and set off down the street.

Donovan chased after him, not that it took much effort. "At least call her back and tell her that much."

"Not likely." Kieran gave a huff that could be taken as a laugh if you squinted.

Of all the things he wanted to deal with on his walk, yet another manipulative woman wasn't on the list. Kieran needed time to think, organize, and plan. Talking with that woman always killed his last brain cell. She had a very specific way of viewing the world around her and it rarely lined up with Kieran's thoughts or feelings.

As far as comfortable conversations went, she barely ranked higher than Patrick.

"Why are you out walking at this hour, anyway? Snack time?"

Kieran did chuckle, this time. Donovan knew him well enough to know that Kieran often went to grab snacks when he was stressed out. He needn't act like Kieran didn't know that Donovan grabbed snacks, too.

But, tonight, Kieran couldn't chance running into the little rich girl. So he shook his head.

"Just needed to get away from Tawny for a while." Kieran tipped his head back and let the warm night air wash over his face.

"I keep telling you that you shoulddump her," Donovan pointed out, strangely chatty. "You don't even like her. Why keep stringing her along?"

Kieran shook his head at his best friend. "You know how her life has gone. I need to be responsible for that."

"Cut the crap." Donovan smacked a hand against the back of Kieran's head. "You're not responsible for anything that happened to her. This is all placebo effect on her part. And don't forget that I was there that day."

"Shut up, Donovan. I need to think."

On cue, Donovan's phone buzzed in his hand.

Donovan gave the loudest groan that Kieran had ever heard come out of his mouth. He slid the green answer button. "Yes, ma'am. No, I can assure you that I did not hang up on you."

Kieran waved a hand, demanding that Donovan take his conversation elsewhere.

Donovan obeyed with a nod and thumbs-up, leaving Kieran to his own devices.

Except, had Kieran known what lay waiting in the darkness of the night, he might not have so easily dismissed Donovan to go his own way.